from now. what i didn't say is jerry trembly is the greatest teacher i ever had, anyone ever had. if he's as good a caregiver as heas a teacher, god's his heaven, all's right with the world. this law needs to be changed now so his wife n cast her ballot like every other registered pennsylvania voter. that's "hardball" for now. thanks for being witus. "the ed show" withd schultz starts rite now. good evening, americans. and welcome to "the ed show" from new york. 40 days until the 2012 election. six days until the first presidential debate. 27 states allow americans to vote early. including two who started today. early signs show mitt romney has llr worse problems than e th is he eshow let's get to work. seems like we've been waiting for this day for a long time. >> obama voters showed up in full force today in iowa.

the election has begun in the fit swg ste wi ear thammp i ing . >> my job is not to worry about those -- >> tonight, dnc chairwoman debbie wasserman-schultz on the democratic effort to get out the vote in iowa and beyond. "mother jones" unearthed yet another lost romney tape from his in years. bcal n st pars >>'ll ask robert reich what mitt romney means when he says he's harvesting companies. if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut whole thing down. at he's talking about when it comes to women has the nerve to call senator claire mccaskill unladylike. we'll bring you the latest on the todd akin disaster. good to have you wh us anr hit, folks. ioicoff e 2012 electionn january. today it was the first state where people could cast their votes in person for the general

election. the race is on. the race has been tight in iowa, but president obama has the momentum. the latest ten-day poll erage from "real clear politics" shows president obama with nearly a five-point lea iowa voters were out in full force starting at 7:00 this morning. one election commissioner said this could be a reco-breaking year. >> this was by far the busiest opening day we've had in the ten wthng pe. been in the office. 100 would have been a good number. that's what it was four years ago. we're well past that. we're not to noon yet. >> look at the early voting numbers from 2008 to see how big a record breaker it could be thisear. , of btse casteforelection d. early voting favored barack obama over john mccain by 18 points. 58% to 40%. this year,7 states and washington, d.c., will have early in-person voting prior to e aiartingay.

eavoting parcipaon at around 40% this year. two out of every five ballots will be filled out before november 6th in this election cycle. todais truly the beginning of the end of the presidential election. but one candidate is in much better pition to take advantage of t new voting thyn t wcall american democracy. here's a look at mitt romney's field offices in iowa. the romney camp pass 12 outposts across the hawkeye state. now take a look at president obama's operation. his field operation in iowa. thammp h6 these outpost offices. the president's campaign has a 5 1/2-1 advantage over mitt romney when it comes to operation in iowa. these field offices are the lifeblood of presidential campaigns. ths e aist thget t toote efforts and organize volunteers. today, "the new york times"

ported from polling aces in iowa and found mostly outspoken obama supporters. >> do you think that the romney supporters are out voting early as well? or are they more likely to show up on election day? >> i don't see them. >> does this give you a false sense of security maybe? >> we're not taking anything for granted. i don't see them out here today. >> it's stunning for mitt romney to be so underprepared to fight in the ground me in iowa. hhee les the imarcandidate. romney only started making frequent appearances in the state a week before the iowa caucuses. by then, it was too late. and he lost a tight race. roey's campaign should have refocused their efforts, but stead, ty find thevese in hugdian, he fit baots re ct toy. president obama is moving in for the final knockout punch. the obama campaign unveiled a full two-minute television video ad today with president directly addressing viewers. the ad is airing in four swing states, including iowa. it'timeor aew enomiargument.

patriotism. rooted in the belief that growing our economy against with a strong, thriving middle class. read my plan. compare it to governor romney's and ciorrs anksor lteni. >> the president introduced the theme of economic patriotism into his stump speech at a campaign event in virginia today. >> during campaign season, you always hear a lot about patriotism. well, u know what? it's time foa neecon ioti. an economic patriotism rooted in the belief that growing our economy begins with a strong and thriving middle class. >> this is a new line in the president's campaign speech. it's not simply a call for policies and programs to support the middle class. it's a contrast with his opnent. thcontst ion fl display in another ad using mitt romney's own words. >> there are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what, who are dependent upon government, who believe they are victims, who

believes government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe they're entitled to health care, foo houng, u nat. they'll vote for the president no matter what. my job is not to worry about these people. >> one of mitt romney's central arguments of the campaign is presidenobama just has not created jobs. >> wn cae ci that have not created the jobs america needs, then you know it's time to choose a new leader, get a new coach. get america growing again. >> romney's spokesperson andrea sal lead out the official romney line on msnbtoday. joenre aglt >> that was september 4th. excuse me.

today romney lost this argument. the bur pro of labor statistics announced a provision to its jobs count from march of 2011 to march of this year. the revised number incdes an additional 386,000 jobs. this mns morthan million joavenedince president obama took office. the bottom line here? there are more jobs now than when the president took overor george w. bush in january of 2009. thasn ofne mattacks on e president. and now, it's off the table. romney isn't in a position where he can afford to lose any of his weapons. i think he's scrambling big-time. all the polls show that. on a personal note i can't wait for the debates. one of the lines bng used by reicrinohe conservatives is that mitt romney is just this great debater. i mean, he is a great debater. can somebody remind the american people, and i'll do it right now, that we have a smart guy on our side? president oba, let me remind

you, is a fierce competitor. he will prepared. nohoisia he knows his accomplishments and he knows exactly where he wants to take this country. can you really say that about mitt romney? get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. night's question. can the president sustain this momentumor 40 days? tea" yteb" no to 622639. always go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com and leave a comment. we're joined by florida congresswoman, debbie wasserman-schuz, chair of the democratic national commite. congressman, good to have you withs tonight. >> thanks, ed. good to be with you again. >> you bet. are democrats very confident in the nd game that you can duplicate this around the couny,t yohaveeele too in day one in iowa? >> well, ed, we're very proud if you look at the contrast between

our two campaigns, president obama's campaign has been in the process and we believe ccessfully has established the most significant dynamic groorentcagn in history. that's why you see that the offices and the ground game and the grassroots network that we have across the state of iowa and across states in this country. in iowa, president obama was so proud toin ia inhe democratic primary of 2008. he had an organization there that's never left. i can tell you that from now until election day, i'm looking forward to being in iowa this weekend. we're going to continue to go door to door and neighborhooto neighborhood to talk to votesers about this moving forward. >> give us a snapshot of t swing states and theroun mewet ed m it's rather overwhelming. the intensity. and the ground game that president obama has got versus the challenger, mitt romney. does it look this way in all of the other swing states? >> well, you know, mitt romney, let's not just dismiss the organization that he has. when you he a handful of

to b the white house for you, you know, you can pay for a few offices and for some folks to get out there and knock on some doors. they certainly aren't doing nothing. they've got an organization there as well. but we're proud that we have a grassroots people powered campgn. one at f ohe yoow, thousands of door knocks and phone calls and we've got a lot of online outreach that occurs across the country. so we're counting on grassroots operations to help carry president obama across the finish line. ck to the white house. >> how important is the early ng? ouecisind early vote in all of these states? >> absolutely. early voting is critical. we're thrilled at the early voting organization that we have and the gop effort we have. starting in wa today. we also want to remind people that they've got to get out, there's still me to rester unotin states across the go to gottoregister.com. because they can get the information they need to sign up and register to vote. plenty of time left. >> and what about combatting voter suppression?

has this been the game plan? is this the best thing you can to? >> you know what we've been doing, at the same time we've been fighting battles of voter suppression legally and been successful through federal courts with judges appointed by republican and democratic presidents knocking these laws down, clearing away these obstacles, we've not been taking that for granted. we made sure we get thpeop thinatthee r e acaw themselves and make sure they can get what they need to bring to the polls and also what they need to get registered to vote. >> all right. there's been a lot of conversation, congresswoman, abt polls and who's ahead. we can't find a poll where mitt romney is ahead. in fact, i me the comment, i would like to be in mitt romney's office beuse d li eeire ow they expect to get there, if you know what i mean. what is their roadmap to victory? ohio is crucial. and the early -- and the get out to vote, obviously what we just talkedbout, is crucial. does ihaveo beiggethan

2008 for president obama to win? >> well, you know, i don't want to be -- you don't want to put too much stock in polls 40 days out,hether we're up, whether we're down, we're concentrating on that ground game. mm, r ine detes you know, let's not discount the fact that mitt romney is an experienced and skilled debater. he -- >> he's been all over the map, congresswoman. i mean, the guy has been all over the map on health care, on taxes. i mean, he's -- h? >> kin mind, though, he's a pretty decent closer. he's had a lot of time to prepare for these debates. during the democratic national convention, reportedly he did a week of debate prep camp. he's gone through 48 hours, done five debate practices. president obama has been practicing but he's got a day job, and he's been trying to balance that. i tvee wi this. he had a week of debate prep? and i must believe that the way he's been talking he's come out more confused from that debate prep than what we've seen. we've seen him stumble all over

himself just in the last cycle, he contradictehimself yesterday on health care. l rber, he's going to come out and he's going to be prepared to, you know, just coming on to the stage with the president of the united states gives you some gravitas right there. d typically in the first debate -- the challeer was declared the winner. so let's just keep in mind that we can't take anything for granted. let's focus on the ground game. we've got 40 days to go. >> you've got a good day one. that's for sure. congresswoman debbie wasserman-scltz wi us eow thanks so much. answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen. share your thoughts on twitter @edshow and facebook. we want to know what you think.

coming up, mitt romney reveals the real goal of bain capital in a newly discovered video. former labor secretary robert reich has reaction next. and i'll he mmen. ll tebtot yst check the president's ad claims? and tell the truth? we'll have a romney fact check of our own coming up. and george w. bush will pay a visit to the island where mitt romney money les. 'll have a theai of lands for a little trip to talk it over. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter using #edshow. we're right back.

welcome back to "the ed show." another video has surfed showg thalt ey "mother jones" has done it again. this time getting a video from bain and company by a former employee. sometimes they'll get you every time, won't they? the video celebrates the company's 25th anniversary. and includes footage from 1985 of romney talking about bain fedtal, tpiff cpora at the time, bain capital was relatively new and romney explains the company mission. >> bain capital is an investment partnership which was formed to invest in startup companies and ongoing companies. then to take an active hand in managing them and hopefully five to eight years later to harvest them at a significant profit. the fund was formed on september 30th of last year. it's been about ten months then. it was formed with million in investesh ior to "mother jones" obtaining it but the key phrase

in the videotape is this. harvest them at a significant profit. now, this may be no big deal to private equity firms, but let's be very clear. romney basically is describing an economic modefirm cty mi c o this country, because they are the ones who suffer. the people that lose their jobs to see them go overseas. that'sn economic model. which throws workers to the wolves. romney has been grasping to defend this economic model throughout h camign. 'mery d het that throughout my career i have worked to try and build enterprises, hopefully to return money to investors. there's nothing wrong with profit, by the way. that profit -- that profit -- that profit -- that profit went wtoidra ndstories. institutions. a lot of people beneted from that and, by way, as enterprises become more profitable, they can

hire more people >> romney's rds ep cshin rty which is why the story of mike ernst, a former employee of ampad, has been so effective against romney. >>ut of the blue one day, we were told to build a 30-foot stage. a grp of people walked out on ant is now closed and all of you are fired. >> let's bring in robert reich, former labor secretary under president bill clinton, now a professor at public policy at uc berkeley, and author of "beyond outrage" now available in paperback. thtot.h, good to have you ba i want to play another piece from the same 1985 video where mitt rney offers three reasons bain and company decided to create bain capital. here it is. >> three reasons. we recognize that we have the

potential to develop a significant and proprietary flow of business opportunities. secondly, we had concepts and experience which would allow us to identify potential value and hidden value in a particular investment candidate, anthird, ad cltg resources and management skills and management resources to become actively involved in the companies we invested in to help them realize their potential value. >> i tell you what, he has the corporate lingo down. weidhened t creating jobs and we never would under this economic model. do you believe we would? >> no, ed, in fact, creating jobs, ed, at best is a particularroduct maybe of a long-term strategy to build new products and also build new maets and keep americans employ. buatnoe ere of private equity and it's certainly not the centerpiece of bain capital. when mitt romney was talking art about harvesting and maximizing profits, what he was talking about was a technique of squeezing payrolls. payrolls are 70% of the cost

structure of most companies. the's easeiest way is to squeeze payrolls, get rid of people, cut benefits, to even cut wages. that is too ofn exactly what prate uity managerdo. bee sehere n out for the long term. they're not out for the 20 or 25 years, the new products, the new possibilities. they are out to, in the short term, maximize profits for themselves and for their investors. >> so e connection here is, i believe, personall that if mitt romney were to be president of t united states, he would support and advocate legislation that it would make it eaer for oratnsdot , outsource the jobs and he wants to have, you know, right-to-work in every state in america. he's been very clear on that.

what does this say to the middle class? not to be fear mongering, but what would this do to the middle class in this country? >> well, it's the same set of policy, it's the same outlook, it's the same frame of reference we've seen coming from wall street and corporate america for 30 years now. i mean, ev before that, when engine charlie wilson who eisenhower named to defense secretary, said what's good for gm is good for america, and vi versa, he was ridiculed because stpldeodt is good for the big corporation in terms of profits is not necessarily good for workers, even though at that time gm was unionized and engine charlie's words more likely the fact then than they are right now. the fact is for the last 30 years america has seen corporations do better and better and better and yet the median wage has gone absolutely nowhere, adjusted for inflation. most people are more insecure in termof their jobs and their benefits are drying up. corporate profits should not necessarily co at the expense

or bint,t exactly what has happened and the bain framework, the bain strategy is at the center of this strategy overall. >> harvest is a very interesting word that he used. it's kind of like ling not a few years ago, you know, the term "out of the box." i remember back in the '80s when farming wasn't too bad and a certain player harvested so many numbers or we're going to gon and harvest a business. the lingo was -- >> when you harvest, the question i what you leave back in the dirt. after you do the harvesting. >>ct >> unfortunately, these days, and certainly bain cital's technique and the technique of a lot of private equity managers and hedge fund managers and vulture capitalists is to harvest the profits and leave the workers back in the dirt. that's what we've seen. 'st xpnc it's not hard to convince americans that that's been going on. they've been living it. >> robert reich, great to have you with us on "the ed show." thanks so much. coming up, mitt romney explains his winning strategy for the presidential debates. find out why he thinks this election boils down to three

issues. his choices ju might surprise you. > antoddkiep pug s foot in his mouth. today, he called his opponent unladylike and he called her an uncaged wildcat. we'll have the latest on the republican disaster in missouri. that's ahead.

and we a bac anks winhe show" tonight, folks. mitt romney is revealing his strategy for what could be one of the biggest nights of his campaign. g numbers here, folks. 52 million people are expected to watch next wednesday's debate with president obama. and mitt has alan. he says he's going to go out and tellhe tth. >> i think the president will not be able to continue to mischaracterize my pathway and so i'll be able to describe mine, he will describe his and people will make a choice. >> kl rove loves the idea. he wrote today in the "wall street journal," "mrromney must call out the president and sethe rdtrait in idale. sounds good. and romney's taken his advice to heart. in fact, he says there are three issues he needs to correct t president on. here's the first one -- >> when he says i was in favor of liquidating the automobile rthefromhe truth. my plan was to rebuild the auto industry and take it through bankruptcy so that could happen. >> oh, really?

romney's starting with an easy one here. we know exactly what he thinks about the automobile loan. beuse he wrote aut it in 08 romney said, let detroit go bankrupt. he said, federal money could kill the automobile industry. but the cash injection did what? the absolute opposite. automakers got special financing from the taxpayers. and, of course, michigan's unemployment level hit its lowest point in three years. general motors is reporting profits again. now, mitt romney wants to set the record straight. he says he actually wanted to rebuild the autobile industry ybromney can explain his stance on the automobile industry for voters in michigan and ohio during the debate. where he is trailing. here's the second thing that mitt romney wants to clear up for all of us out there. >> he says i'm in favor of lowering taxes on wealthy people.

no, i'm not. i'm not going to reduce the taxes on theealthy at all. in fact, i want to lower taxes on middle income people. he says i want to raise them on middle income people. ry?ply cu. it will be interest to watch romney set the president straight on his tax cut plan. we spent time on "the ed show" trying to figure out how he'll balance the budget without raising taxes. in fact, romney might have revealed too much abouhis x plan to a crowd in ohio yesterday. listen as he tells them not to expect any tax cuts. >> i want to bring the rates -- don't be expecting a huge cut in taxes because i'm going to lower deductions and exemptions. >> romney just said he'd cut deductions and exemptions. hofullhe civ m facts about how that would help the middle class during the debate. here's the third issue romney wants to fact check the president on -- >> he says i'm opposed to

abortion even in cases of rape and incest, and e life of the mother th w. one ad after the other of his has been determined to be factually inaccurate. >> hopefully romney can finally clear his position on abortion du tde bsere all confused. you see, in 1994, he said abortion should be safe and legal. in 2002, he said he'd preserve and protect a n's right to choose. wait a minute. in 2007, romnesaid he'd be delighted to sign a ban, a bill to ban abortions. and tonight, his campaign website identifies romney as pro-life. me wants to overturnoe v. wade. he supports a personhood measur ll'st enim a nobams, wrong on all of these issues,

these three big issues. maybe he can clarify the truth for us coming up on wednesday night. i'm joined tonight by steve benen, msnbc contributor and writer for the maddow blog. keeps track of mitt romney's lies in a series call mitt mendacity. eat to have you th us tot,ve romney's own pollster said last month, we're not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact checkers. so why is romney's debate strategy to fact check the president? i find it interesting. >> that's a good question. i was thinking, on the way over here, how i haven't been in college for long time, b i remember being a freshman and takingsy 101nd rbe learning about something when people identify their most glaring faults and project those faults on to the other people. i'm think this is a great example of that. because mitt romney has demonstrated over the course of several months as one of the mo dishone i've er sn. or trnund say he wants to look forward to using the debates to somehow suggest the president has been dishonest, i think that's a classic example of projection. >> you used the word dishonest

twice. you have no problem with tt? ey aghckor when it cometo telling the truth? >> you know, it's funny, you mentioned, i do this series online at maddowblog.com every friday afternoon chronicling mitt's mendacity. it's quite a list because at this point it's getting awfully long. it's hard to even count all of the tis mitt romy s sa something that's just glaringly breathtakingly dishonest, from the economy to energy policy, to national security. it astounding. i remember paul krugman earlier this year described mitt romney has being almost pathological in his approach to the truth. i think on average, all thgs beg equal, that's noan unreasonable thing to say. >> can romney make president obama look like a liar? >> it's going to be very difficult. i think it's fair to say that the president has been tough on mitt rney of late. he's running series of very aggressive ads. you mentioned earlier in the show about the 47% ad in particular.

but all those ads stand up really well to scrutiny. there's nothing in any of the president's ads that has been plainly untrue. i think all candidates and all politicians are going to try and put their own spin othe facts, but the presidt has been the campaign.gho i don't think mitt romney can say the thing. >> it's going to be interesting. that's one of the dynamics of the first debate, how aggressive president obama will be in calling out mitt romney on how inaccurate. we'll call it inaccurate or maybe even, he'll use the word odhave you with us.sosition. thanks so much. there's a lot more coming up in the next half hour of "the ed show." stay with us. >> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut th whole thing down. >> the missouri reblican who has no ia hoa n's dy wois cng opponent unladylike. and tammy baldwin's campaign is hitting tommy thompson for pledging to do away with medicare. the latest on those senate ras, next.

ee u mro like a cayman island stingray. tonight, we'll show you why "w" just might be mitt romney's october surprise. >> i know the human being and fish can co-exist peacefully. eligible for medicare?

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to go the distance with you. call now to request your free decision guide. this easy-to-understand guid will answer some of your questions, and help you find the aarp medicare supplement plan that's right for you. welcome back to "the ed show." congressman todd akin, well, he has struck again. this time, the republican senate candidate demeaned his opponent, senator claire mccaskill. akin told "the kansas city star," "i think we have a clear path to victory d aprently claire mccaskill tnks do, bsehe w very aggressive at the debate which was quite different than it was when she ran against jim talen. she had a confidence and was much more ladylike in 2006. but in the debate on friday she came on swinging and i think that's becausehe feels threatened." republicans are trying to igre akin lest xist comment nckesoid think it's best if the nrsc weighs in on these questions

because we're so focused on the presidential." the nrcc spokesperson said, "decline to comment." it gets woe. according to "the los angeles times" akin told supporters, "the first t minesw, itikme l wat out of the cage. she was just furious and attacking in every different direction which wases a little bit of a surprise to us." you know, 's par for the course, from the candidate who said this -- >> it ses to me, first of all, from what i understand from doctorhat'real rar if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. >> of course, akin tried to apologize and now that republicans are struggling to regain the senate, they ar starting to throw their support >> of course, akin tried to apologize and now that republicans are struggling to regain the senate, they are starting to row their support

hihetrsi candidate in missouri. yesterday, the nrcc officially endorsed him and the chair of the democratic senatorial campaign committ says the endorsement taints every republican sene, senator runng in this election cyc. ja weagve e of those republicans said that what he said was so offensive and how he said it was so offensive that they could not support him. and they are going to have to answer to the question about why is it not offensive today? i think that is a legitimate question that is going to asked not just of ose republicans o now are going ene him or put money in, but of every republican candidate who is running. >> joining me tonight, keli goff, who is political correspondent for root.com and sam stein, political rorter for "the huffington post." great to have both of you with us. keli, you first. how offensive is this? imeg reasng is it has to respond to? >> well, i'd say on a scale of 1 to 10, we're heading into, like,

20 territory, ed. i think at a certain point this stepcande ese ert any candidate do to not get support? right? like, i think at this point we have to start having a competition just to see where the lineof offensiveness, how far we can push these boundaries. apparently making rape jokes esn'do it, makg mini cments doesn't do it. maybe somebody has to drop the "n" bomb, but with rick per re and the rock thing. >> sam, how does he overcome this? >> i don't think he does. todd akin should have a rule he shouldn't speak about women or women's issues because it causes him more proems than it's worth. obviously missouri is a conservative state, or trending conservative. it's not going to vote for president obama like it did. claire mccaskill has always been in a dog fight with respect to the senate race. u know, if some respects if i were the nrsc, i'd be rooting for todd akin not to win because he ds uin se,

image, the stuff that he says, the possibility he can say something even more, you know, outrageous, that would weigh over the party every day. i don't think they want that. >> and, ed, let's not forget, you know, emily's list has new polling data of their own th aicckill, are doing very well in the races because of the perception of the gop's stance on women's issues. that's what the polling is incating. shelley berkley's race, elizabeth warren's state. claire mccaskill's race. it's helping democratic female caidates. ec tro ie republican party has very few cotituencies left they can rely on. it's primaily old, white men. if you want to alienate women further than they've been alienated in this process, you veolitnse a they're suffering a gender gap. this makes it worse. i know it won't have an effect in the missouri race when it comes to the presidential contest, but it creates an image

problem for other races in -- >> that's whbody wand to embrace this guy. they have toecause they want to theenatso. here's a new poll. let's take a look at the indiana senate race. congressman joe donnelly two points ahead of state treasurer richard mourdock. it's in the margin of error. it should set f alarm bells the nrcs, shouldn't it, sam? >>h,eais tis a trend not just about indiana. it's about, you know, maybe half a dozen states now where we're seeing democratic senate candidates basically rising up above the republican opponents. you have to look at larger trends to plain it. ofm in at undiscussed is how the question about who can handle the economy has changed. it used to be obama was suffering a big deficit next to romney with that. since several weeks ago, probably tied to the convention, those numbers have turned and l of a sudn the democratic d rctth

economy has become more popular than the republican brand. >> mourdock who has been a hardliner, he's been trying to embrace the moderate positions claiming he's more open to compromise, claiming he will otso sitd medicare. but this is not the same mourdock who defeated richard lugar in the primary. are richard lugar and others paying their price for the extremism? >> i would add to what sam said, part of the aftermath of 47gate. itouo trgt you're best on the economy when you think you should only be working for half of the people on the economy, right? that's h the comments were perceived. to your question, ed, i want to add, this is not just having a trickledown effect to other senate races. the only shot we have at elecng a new woman governor is acly -- >> it's ticket-wide, no tion. >> who shouldn't be in a neck and neck race, but is, because of what's going on nationally with the gop. >> keli goff, sam stein. coming up, a hidden video at a mitt romney fund-raiser has sparked controversy about mitt mney's past investments in

china. we'll tell you all about it next. up next, new dls about mitt romney's past investments in china.

ttnepanvenlsut in china. and later george w. bush is staying away from the campaign trail, but his trip to the cayman islands could be a headache for mitt.

when i was back in my private equity days we went to china to buy a factory there. and, boy, about 20,000 people, and they work in these huge factories. they make various small appliances. and we re wkingo fatyeiherke mber of hours they work for days. what they earned, living in dormitoies with e little bathrooms at the end, maybe ten rooms. in the rooms they had 12 girls per room. threnks opea

r. >> welcome back to "the ed show." you know, mitt romney never specifies what factory he's talking about in that clip from the fund-raising dinner in florida, but his account of visiting that factory is renewing interest in his investments in china. ndns jhemiport finds the romney describe, the long hour, the low wages, the dormitories filled to the brim, were practically the pitch that had him invest in a company in china back in 1998. the "the boston globe" reports on a document put out by global tech appliances, china based ho appliance company, on april 8t998. the document meant to attract investors noted the company used inexpeive labor and peak production periods required six-day workweeks and two ten-hour shifts were day. also descbes the 14 buildings that served as dormitoies for up to 3,700 workers. by way, the inexpensive labor is

put it lightly. an stitute says in 1998, global tech oyeereceed a ge24tsho that's less than 2% of u.s. wages at the time. the global th document also advertised its low tax liability, being located in china, meant a lower overall effective tax rate than u.s. corporations paid at the time. ernsld bbjy sd the to material united states taxes because it should not be considered to have significant income effectively connected with a trade or business in the united states. guy plays all the angles, doesn't he? so mitt romney, the presidential candidate, who now talks tough on china and says that preside obama isn't tough on china, what do you think he did with all atoron well, on april 17th, 1998, just

9 days after the document was released, brookside incorporated, an affiliate of bain capital, acquired about 6% of global tech. mitt romney was listed as the sole shareholder, sole director, esident and o ofrookde incorporated. mitt romney chose to pay less taxes and exploit workers all for a profit. midd classers, you nervous tonight? you ought to be. niin o svey, ask can the president sustain his momentum for 40 days? 99% of you say yes. 1% of you say no. coming up, george w. bush is back this time 's going to be dancing up a storm ithcayman islands. you won't believe the stunt he's pulling only five days before the election. we'll bring you the details next.

and the big finish tonight, what to you mean he thought he was gone, never to be heard from again? george w. bush is leaving the ranch for a opical vacation. just five days before the election. th's right. wbeding down to the cayman islands to remind everyone where mitt romney hides his money. bush will be the keyno speaker at the cayman alternative investment summit. g bon rhard

branson. the summit, i guess you could say is like a summer camp for rich guys. ey offer a seminar on, let's see, how to capitalize on asia an emerging fund superpower. mitt romney would love that one, don't you think? if you don't like financial regulation, you can attend a speech on accepting regulation as way of life. aninfluencing the regulators. can't you just see bush saying puanve been doing a great job by keeping bush away from this election cycle this election season, but bush didn't attend the gop convention, and he didn't get a lot of mentions there, either. in his videotape appearance, well, was not played in primetime. just when republicans thought ck tweidw.'s and this time he could be costing romney votes right before the election. how's the public going to view this one? for more, let's turn to msnbc

political analyst and "bloomberg ew" comnist, jonathan alter. >> e >> everybody's going to pay attention -- great to have you with us tonight. everybody's going to pay attention to what w. says. what's he going to say about offshore accounts? isn't kind of walking into a mitt romney minefield here? >> he's not going to say anything about offshore accounts and will ste as far clear from thpres hposs c tef what they already know. that they learned about this cayman islands swiss bank account thing months ago and it did serious damage to mitt romney. it'smposble telhow damage. the polls don't actually tell that. but this really -- you could argue before the videotape this did as much as anything to wreck his campaign. americans are smart. they might not be financial wizards but they kw you don't puureythym islands just for a good investment.

you're putting it there, you're keep it secret for a purpose to avoid taxes. it's very hard -- >> this just a bad spotlight at a bad time. >> terrible. an but the real problem is wh mitromn didn 20 before he ran for president at the first time. any rational would-be presidential candidate, the first thing that they would do would be to make somsacrific in the own financial life for s earances stak >> why would he not get any fund he was involved with out of the cayman islands, out of the swiss bank accounts? not be cutting corners with his i.r.a. and all the other things here. it'st it'yoea why he would be exposed this way. and a lot of republicans are saying the same thing. >> well, how angry do you think priebus and mitt romney are at bush for pulling this one? >> they can't be happy. it's almost at this point like mi